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The shockwaves from the decision on Monday by Spain's Supreme Court to imprison nine pro-independence Catalan leaders for a total of 100 years have now reached La Liga. This Wednesday, Spain's top professional men's football league has asked the Competition Committee at the the Spanish Royal Football Federation (RFEF) to consider moving the Clásico between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid scheduled for 1pm local time on Saturday 26th October from Camp Nou to the Bernabéu in Madrid.

La Liga wants to try and avoid having the game, the most hotly anticipated match-up of the season, coincide with the large demonstration being planned by civil society organisations for that day in Barcelona.

The Federation's Competition Committee will now have to study the petition and consult with the two involved. If the switch goes ahead, their next meeting in the Liga, on 1st March, will move in turn to Camp Nou.

Barça's response

When the sentences were released on Monday, Barça were quick to react. Within an hour, the club had released a statement headlined "prison is not the solution" in which it expressed "its support and solidarity to the families of those who are deprived of their freedom."

Now today, El Nacional has learnt that Barça has already made its decision on whether they want to move the match, and that decision is a "no". They have three days to respond to the Committee. The programme Jugones on TV channel La Sexta, meanwhile, reports that Real Madrid will also oppose the switch "because it would mean altering the competition".

The protesters' response

Tsunami Democràtic, one of the platforms organising the protests in response to the verdicts, has also responded to today's news. Its answer couldn't be simpler: "Challenge accepted".